“Extending these voting rights will empower these young 17-year-olds,” said Sandra Matsen, advocacy coordinator for the League of Women Voters of New Jersey. ”Basically once a person votes, that person is much more likely to vote again.”

Murphy supported the idea as a candidate. He also wants to allow early voting 15 days before an election, as well as provide for automatic, online and same-day voter registration.

“Why would we continue to mail out ballots after somebody has demonstrated after four years that they’re not voting? Don’t we put any responsibility upon them?” said Sen. Chris Brown, R-Atlantic.

“I understand why you’re saying,” said Sen. Jim Beach, D-Camden. “In the spirit of encouraging voter participation, I do believe that we should do everything possible to make it as easy as possible for individuals to vote.”